INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 51

They were quarried from the Rock─God. They are told to reflect upon their roots─Abraham and Sarah─no children but God made their offspring as numerous as the stars in multitude. God will once again bless Zion─this forsaken place will look like the garden of Eden,and as a bonus joy and gladness and singing and shouting will again spring from these ashes. His word will flow like a river─salvation will be on schedule and islands will be waiting for his justice. The new order will be like the discarding of old moth eaten garments. They were to hold the teachings of the LORD inside them and not be afraid. They were to awake and put on the strength of the LORD because they were serving a God strong enough to destroy the crocodile of the Nile. Happy day! They have arrived home from exile, sorrow and sadness have vanished like smoke. He further assures them that those in jail and prisons would be freed and not be left behind to starve. The captives had been smitten with madness and astonishment of heart─ God gave them to drink the wine of his fury. They lived for 70 years on this wine. As the time of the exile comes to an end the cup of fury is transferred from the exiles to the captors.

EXPOSITION TO ISAIAH CHAPTER 51

1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

They are to look to the rock from where they had been quarried.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Isa 46:3-4 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. Read: Pro 15:9; Mat 5:6

2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

They were to think about their ancestors─Abraham and Sarah─once Abraham was just one, he and Sarah had no children when God called him, but God blessed him and made him into a multitude.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

Gen 12:1-3 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

3For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

God will once again comfort Zion. All her piled up ruins and rubble will look like Eden─her deserted places will look like a lush garden─Joy and gladness, thanksgiving and singing and melody will be found in Zion. He will give them beauty where now is ashes and joy where now is depression.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

PRESENT OVERWHELMING PROOF OF THE TEXT:

Isa 61:1-5 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

4Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

When God brings deliverance to Zion his revelation will flow like a river and judgment will rest upon them and his decisions will light up the world.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ARE CONCLUSIVE AND FINAL:

Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Read: Rom 8:2-4

.5My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

Gods salvation arrived just on schedule─far away islands were waiting for his justice─his arm would bring uprightness.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT RATIFY THE TEXT:

Isa 60:9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. Read Rom 1:16-17

6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

When God sets things aright he compares it to discarding your old work clothes─the skies above vanishing like smoke─but his righteousness lasting forever. God setting-things-right will never be obsolete.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT BEAR OUT THE TEXT:

Deu 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. Read: Isa 34:4

7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

If you hold the teachings of the LORD inside you─don’t be afraid of scorn, reviling, taunts or insults─don’t let it get you down─do not be afraid of their words, nor dismayed at their looks.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT SPEAK VOLUMES ABOUT THE TEXT:

Psa 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Eze 2:6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

They will be gone like a moth eaten garment is discarded or like a termite eaten board is burned. Gods triumph and saving power is to all generations.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT SHED LIGHT ON THE TEXT:

Job 13:28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten. Read: Isa 46:13; Luk 1:50

9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?

They are told to awake and put on strength─didn’t you once destroy Rahab (Egypt) and didn’t you once pierce the dragon (symbol of Egypt). Pharaoh was the crocodile of the Nile.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT VERIFY THE TEXT:

Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. Read: Isa 59:17; Isa 27:1

10Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?

Wasn’t it the God who lives within you─who guides you, that turned the red sea into a highway for the passing of the redeemed?

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT GIVE COUNTEREVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Isa 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?

11Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Happy day! The redeemed have arrived home from Babylon and are filled with joy and singing. Sorrow and sighing have fled away they are crowned with gladness.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT CONFIRM THE TEXT:

Jer 31:11-12 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

12I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

I am your consoler, how can you be afraid of mortal man who is like grass?

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

CARRY WEIGHT REGARDING THE TEXT:

Isa 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

13And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

They had forgotten God their maker─the one who spread the stars across the skies─they feared the oppressor every day as if he was going to destroy them. They shook like a leaf in the wind at the tantrums of this tyrant.

14The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

These captives are going to be set free and will not be left behind to starve or rot in some prison.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT MAKE THE CASE:

Zec 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Read: Lam 3:53-54; Isa 52:2

15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.

More assurance that the LORD of hosts who divided the Red Sea will come to their rescue.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT INDORSE THE TEXT:

Jer 31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

God put his word in their mouth─protected them from their enemy─in the shadow of his hand (you have to be close to be in the presence of his shadow.)

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT LEND EVIDENCE TO THE TEXT:

Isa 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. Read: Isa 59:21

17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.

God had smitten them with madness, blindness, and astonishment of heart─they had drunk the dregs of trembling. They had not only drunk the cup but had wrung every last drop from the dregs in the bottom of the cup. They had been drinking this chalice of stupor for 70 years.

18There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.

They had a double dose of trouble─no one to guide (give her advice) none to take her by the hand (no living children to come and assist her).

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT AUTHENTICATE THE TEXT:

Isa 3:4-5 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.

19These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?

Double calamities─famine, desolation, destruction, and sword.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ESTABLISH THE CERTAINTY OF THE TEXT:

Eze 14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

20Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the LORD, the rebuke of thy God.

Everyone is fainthearted─drunk and passed out on the street─the LORD has poured out his fury on them.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES THAT

PRESENT OVERWHELMING PROOF OF THE TEXT:

Lam 1:15 The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. Read: Jer 14:18

21Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:

They are in a stupor but it’s not from strong drink─it is from the fury of the LORD. Read Deut. 28.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT ARE CONCLUSIVE AND FINAL:

Deu 28:65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

22Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:

Enough is enough─God says he has taken the dregs of the cup of fury from them.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT RATIFY THE TEXT:

1Sa 25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. Read: Eze 39:29

23But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

God delivers his people from the aforementioned troubles and transfers the same troubles on those who afflicted them. They made you lay on the ground and they walked and drove their carts over you─now the tables have turned.

CROSS REFERENCE SCRIPTURES

THAT BEAR OUT THE TEXT:

Pro 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. Read: Jer 25:17-29